Air programs: Stratospheric ozone protection— depleting substances; substitutes list,

[Federal Register: May 22, 1998 (Volume 63, Number 99)]

[Rules and Regulations]

[Page 28251-28253]

From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]

[DOCID:fr22my98-7]

ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

40 CFR Part 82

[FRL-6015-3]

Protection of Stratospheric Ozone

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency.

ACTION: Notice of acceptability.

SUMMARY: This document expands the list of acceptable substitutes for ozone-depleting substances (ODS) under the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) Significant New Alternatives Policy (SNAP) program.

EFFECTIVE DATE: May 22, 1998.

ADDRESSES: Information relevant to this document is contained in Air Docket A-91-42, U.S. Environmental Agency, Office of Air and Radiation Docket and Information Center, Room M-1500, 401 M Street, SW, Washington, DC 20460. Telephone: (202) 260-7548. The docket may be inspected between 8:00 a.m. and 5:30 p.m. weekdays. As provided in 40 CFR Part 2, a reasonable fee may be charged for photocopying.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: William Monroe at (202) 564-9161 or fax (202) 565-2093, U.S. EPA, Stratospheric Protection Division, 401 M Street, S.W., Mail Code 6205J, Washington, D.C. 20460; EPA Stratospheric Ozone Protection Hotline at (800) 296-1996; EPA World Wide Web Site (http://www.epa.gov/ozone/title6/snap).

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: I. Section 612 Program

1. Statutory Requirements

2. Regulatory History II. Listing of Acceptable Substitutes

1. Aerosols III. Additional Information Appendix A--Summary of Acceptable Decisions

   1. Section 612 Program

1. Statutory Requirements

   Section 612 of the Clean Air Act authorizes EPA to develop a program for evaluating alternatives to ozone-depleting substances. EPA refers to this program as the Significant New Alternatives Policy (SNAP) program. The major provisions of section 612 are:

   ‹bullet› Rulemaking--Section 612(c) requires EPA to promulgate rules making it unlawful to replace any class I (chlorofluorocarbon, halon, carbon tetrachloride, methyl chloroform, methyl bromide, and hydrobromofluorocarbon) or class II (hydrochlorofluorocarbon) substance with any substitute that the Administrator determines may present adverse effects to human health or the environment where the Administrator has identified an alternative that (1) reduces the overall risk to human health and the environment, and (2) is currently or potentially available.

   ‹bullet› Listing of Unacceptable/Acceptable Substitutes--Section 612(c) also requires EPA to publish a list of the substitutes unacceptable for specific uses. EPA must publish a corresponding

   [[Page 28252]]

   list of acceptable alternatives for specific uses.

   ‹bullet› Petition Process--Section 612(d) grants the right to any person to petition EPA to add a substance to or delete a substance from the lists published in accordance with section 612(c). The Agency has 90 days to grant or deny a petition. Where the Agency grants the petition, EPA must publish the revised lists within an additional 6 months.

   ‹bullet› 90-day Notification--Section 612(e) requires EPA to require any person who produces a chemical substitute for a class I substance to notify the Agency not less than 90 days before new or existing chemicals are introduced into interstate commerce for significant new uses as substitutes for a class I substance. The producer must also provide the Agency with the producer's unpublished health and safety studies on such substitutes.

   ‹bullet› Outreach--Section 612(b)(1) states that the Administrator shall seek to maximize the use of federal research facilities and resources to assist users of class I and II substances in identifying and developing alternatives to the use of such substances in key commercial applications.

   ‹bullet› Clearinghouse--Section 612(b)(4) requires the Agency to set up a public clearinghouse of alternative chemicals, product substitutes, and alternative manufacturing processes that are available for products and manufacturing processes which use class I and II substances.

2. Regulatory History

   On March 18, 1994, EPA published the Final Rulemaking (FRM) (59 FR 13044) which described the process for administering the SNAP program and issued EPA's first acceptability lists for substitutes in the major industrial use sectors. These sectors include: refrigeration and air conditioning; foam blowing; solvent cleaning; fire suppression and explosion protection; sterilants; aerosols; adhesives, coatings and inks; and tobacco expansion. These sectors compose the principal industrial sectors that historically consumed the largest volumes of ozone-depleting compounds.

   As described in the final rule for the SNAP program (59 FR 13044), EPA does not believe that rulemaking procedures are required to list alternatives as acceptable with no limitations. Such listings do not impose any sanction, nor do they remove any prior license to use a substance. Consequently, by this notice EPA is adding substances to the list of acceptable alternatives without first requesting comment on new listings.

   EPA does, however, believe that Notice-and-Comment rulemaking is required to place any substance on the list of prohibited substitutes, to list a substance as acceptable only under certain conditions, to list substances as acceptable only for certain uses, or to remove a substance from either the list of prohibited or acceptable substitutes. Updates to these lists are published as separate notices of rulemaking in the Federal Register.

   The Agency defines a substitute as any chemical, product substitute, or alternative manufacturing process, whether existing or new, that could replace a class I or class II substance. Anyone who produces a substitute must provide the Agency with health and safety studies on the substitute at least 90 days before introducing it into interstate commerce for significant new use as an alternative. This requirement applies to substitute manufacturers, but may include importers, formulators or end-users, when they are responsible for introducing a substitute into commerce.

   EPA published documents listing acceptable alternatives on August 26, 1994 (59 FR 44240), January 13, 1995 (60 FR 3318), July 28, 1995 (60 FR 38729), February 8, 1996 (61 FR 4736), September 5, 1996 (61 FR 47012), March 10, 1997 (62 FR 10700), June 3, 1997 (62 FR 30275), and February 24, 1998 (63 FR 9151), and published Final Rulemakings restricting the use of certain substitutes on June 13, 1995 (60 FR 31092), May 22, 1996 (61 FR 25585), and October 16, 1996 (61 FR 54029).

   2. Listing of Acceptable Substitutes

   This section presents EPA's most recent acceptable listing decision for substitutes for class I and class II substances in the aerosol sector. For copies of the full list of SNAP decisions in all industrial sectors, contact the EPA Stratospheric Protection Hotline at (800) 296- 1996.

   Part A below presents a detailed discussion of the substitute listing determination; by major use sector; the table summarizing today's listing decision is in Appendix A. The comments contained in Appendix A provide additional information on a substitute, but for listings of acceptable substitutes, they are not legally binding under section 612 of the Clean Air Act. Thus, adherence to recommendations in the comments is not mandatory for use of a substitute. In addition, the comments should not be considered comprehensive with respect to other legal obligations pertaining to the use of the substitute. However, EPA encourages users of acceptable substitutes to apply all comments to their use of these substitutes. In many instances, the comments simply allude to sound operating practices that have already been identified in existing industry and/or building-code standards. Thus, many of the comments, if adopted, would not require significant changes in existing operating practices for the affected industry.

1. Aerosols

   1. Acceptable Substitute

   Under section 612 of the Clean Air Act, EPA is authorized to review substitutes for class I (CFCs) and class II (HCFCs) chemicals. The following decision expands the acceptable listing for propellants in the aerosol sector.

   (a) Aerosol Propellants

   (1) HFC-227ea

   HFC-227ea is an acceptable substitute for CFC-11, CFC-12, CFC-114, HCFC-22, and HCFC-142b as a propellant in the aerosol sector. HFC-227ea has a zero ozone depletion potential and an atmospheric lifetime of 36.5 years, yet this compound contributes to global warming with a 100- year global warming potential (GWP) of 2,900 relative to carbon dioxide. Despite this concern, the Agency has listed this substitute as acceptable in today's notice since it meets a specialized medical application in metered dose inhalers (MDIs), used by asthmatics and others with chronic obstructive pulmonary diseases, where only one other substitute meets the medical requirements.

   3. Additional Information

   Contact the Stratospheric Protection Hotline at 1-800-296-1996, Monday-Friday, between the hours of 10:00 a.m. and 4:00 p.m. (Eastern Standard Time).

   For more information on the Agency's process for administering the SNAP program or criteria for evaluation of substitutes, refer to the SNAP final rulemaking published in the Federal Register on March 18, 1994 (59 FR 13044). Notices and rulemakings under the SNAP program, as well as all EPA publications on protection of stratospheric ozone, are available from EPA's Ozone World Wide Web site at ``http://www.epa.gov/ ozone/title6/snap'' and from the stratospheric Protection Hotline whose number is listed above.

   Dated: May 8, 1998. Richard D. Wilson, Acting Assistant Administrator for Air and Radiation.

   Note: The following Appendix will not appear in the Code of Federal Regulations.

   [[Page 28253]]

   Appendix A: Summary of Acceptable Decisions

   [Aerosol Propellants]

   ODS being replaced

   Substitute

   Decision

   Comments

   CFC-11, CFC-12, CFC-114, HCFC- HFC-227ea.............. Acceptable............ Despite the relatively high

   22, HCFC-142b as aerosol

   global warming potential of propellant.

   this compound, the Agency has listed this substitute as acceptable since it meets a specialized application in

   MDIs where other substitutes do not provide acceptable performance.

   [FR Doc. 98-13125Filed5-21-98; 8:45 am]

   BILLING CODE 6560-50-P